Lily, Lupin, and the Prank
by Sakura's Face
Summary: After the marauders take it too far with their bullying, Lily decides to get back at James with a prank of her own, but she needs Remus' help. How will everything pan out in this tale of friendship and romance? Disclaimer: I own nothing other than Remus' scarf and the plot. Rated: K, nothing awful in this one at all : Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**AN - So if you've read this before, it's because I've published the first two chapters on , under the fan fiction section. Slightly altered and edited, they're now being put here and I'm forgetting about/going to take down the other copy. No new chapters will be posted there.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, setting or anything recognisable. They are our queen, Jo Rowling's. I own the plot only. And Remus' scarf.**

**Please R&R!**

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Remus Lupin looked out over the lake in front of him, before throwing another rock into its murky depths. The creatures inside probably got annoyed from the number of foreign objects thrown into their home by students, but still Remus picked up another and pulled back his arm to prepare another throw. The particular rock he had chosen skimmed across the glassy surface of the lake six times, before falling and joining its predecessor. He sighed, easing himself off of the grassy bank he had been sitting his left, a lone leaf fell from the fairly large tree he had stacked his bags next to. They were safe from pilfering there, unless he ventured too far from them. Even then, the number of people who would be out where he was that day would be minimal. It was cold for Autumn, and Remus had even broken out his gold and maroon striped scarf early to cope with the slight chill in the air. He walked over to his belongings as another leaf fell from the tree, adding to the golden, orange carpet which was slowly growing to cover the ground, day by day.

The walk back to the castle was quiet and uninterrupted, save for a few chirping birds here and there. Remus felt he had been spending a lot of time without his friends recently, and the four were usually the tightest of tight knit groups. Throughout their school years, they had spent little time alone. They truly had been there for him through the worst of times, but recently they had just been a little too much However, he was still grateful for them and all they had done for him.

Remus reached the Gryffindor common room not long later, and was happy to be in its warmth. He took off his scarf, lying it across the back of the arm chair which he claimed as his own. He raided about in his bag, finding the 'Defence Against the Dark Arts' homework he had been intending to do outside before he had become engrossed in a combination of his own thoughts and throwing stones into the lake. He jotted down a couple of answers, precariously balancing an ink pot on his lap, in which to dip his quill as he wrote. The answers flew into his mind quickly, and from his mind onto parchment just as fast. Defence Against the Dark Arts was the subject at which he was best at, but her put that down to his first hand experience with the types of creatures they studied.

Half an hour ticked by easily, and Saturday evening was almost upon Remus as he finished the last of his homework. Sometimes he thought he was the only one of his friends who ever done anything teachers wanted without needing to be threatened with any number of unpleasant means. The fire in the centre of the common room continued to burn, regardless of the howling wind and rain outside. The room stayed a constant temperature of toasty; warm enough to nip at the frozen fingers of those just coming inside, but not hot too the stage where people felt the need to walk around half naked.

He glanced around the room, looking for the three whom he saw as his friends. There was something which told him that they would be in there, as they usually were during the bad weather. Not being able to sight them, he wandered out of the common room, leaving his things lying in the arm chair he had been sitting in. He trusted the other Gryffindors who were in the tower, trusted them not to take his things or even touch them for that matter. It was an unwritten rule that one would never touch another's things in the common room, at least as far as Remus knew.

"Hey! Moony!" Remus heard a familiar voice calling out his nickname as he wandered the corridors of the school, searching for his friends. He turned round quickly, noticing Sirius Black walking towards him, a grin across his face. "Moony, you have got to to see what me and Prongst have got," a giggle escaped his lips, before he convulsed into fits on laughter. Remus smiled, before nodding and following Sirius to wherever James was.

It took just moments for him to reach the spot, just outside the castle's walls. Remus regretted not having his scarf, but ignored the chill of the air and the shiver it initially caused him. Sirius jogged off, leaving Remus at the top of the hill as he ran down to James and Peter, who were laughing their heads off at something. James paused as Sirius spoke to him, before waving at Remus, as if calling him down. Peter merely glanced up towards Remus, unable to wipe the look of hilarity from his face.

"Hey.. Remus?" He glanced round, noticing as Lily Evans said his name. She had been looking for James, who had spent the last couple of years following her around like a lost puppy, who had found its new master. Remus, Sirius and Peter'd had to put up with it since his original crush, but quickly began ignoring his constantly changing thoughts about her. Remus nodded towards her, a silent greeting.

The two glanced down to the scene at the bottom of the hill, where a fourth person had become apparent. Severus Snape was standing some feet away from the, a shaking arm outstretched and pointing a wand. Remus suppressed a smirk, knowing that Severus was Lily's closest friend, and he heard her sigh. "Every time.." as she scratched the side of her head. She opened her eyes, having closed them briefly, just in time to see the flash of a spell shoot from one side to the other. It was difficult to see which way though.

The three Marauders paused, no longer laughing quite as hard as they had been before. Then James and Sirius broke into identical hysterical giggles, followed by Peter's laughter, which was a little more nervous than theirs. It was as if he could actually see what they had done whilst the other two didn't realise it fullyo. Glancing across about twenty metres, Remus saw a body, slumped unconscious against a tree. The face was hidden behind a mop of black hair, messily blown across his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: see chapter one.**

**Read it before? See chapter one.**

**Anything else.. Um. I don't think so ^.^ I still own Remus' scarf though. **

**R&R - all comments are appreciated! And please do flame me for pairing Lily with someone who isn't James or Severus. I like being flamed by people who assume they're better than me at everything. I'm better than you at maths! I'm better than EVERYONE at maths! *sigh* This AN is not really an AN anymore..**

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"Did.. Remus? Am I.. That just happened, right?" Lily asked, blinking and staring over at the four boys metres away from herself and Remus. Remus nodded, a little dumbstruck himself. Sure, he didn't mind watching whilst they turned him upside down in mid-air and made everything fall out of his pockets, or if they charmed his hair to turn red and yellow for a week or two. No real harm was done there, but this was somewhat more serious.

"Aww.. Come on Snivellus. Don't just die on us! At least retaliate a little bit for us!" James called, still laughing.

"Just one ickle hex to throw at us, or a curse word? Gonna go tell on us even?" Sirius added between bursts of laughter.

Then it clicked. It dawned on Peter first, and he tried to explain it to them. "Guys," he wasn't calling over like the others, and Lily strained her ears, taking a step forwards, to hear what he saying properly, making sure it wasn't something cruel as well. "Guys, he isn't doing anything. I can't even see if he's breathing or anything. "Sh-should we take him to the hospital wing or something?" Peter's voice wavered a little as he spoke.

"Then we might get into trouble.. We should just leave him to wake up, right Prongs?" Sirius was next to speak, whilst James could barely wipe the tears of laughter from his eyes faster than they were flowing.

"Can't take too long, none of us are that good at magic yet," James shrugged, past caring about Severus. "C'mon, lets go heat up a bit in the common room. Coming Moony? Lily?" He said her name hopefully, smirking a little at her and eyeing her up like a prize.

"No chance. Severus is my friend, a better one than you anyway. I'm going to get him some help," she darted off to his side, barely leaving the time to grab her satchel from the ground at her feet. "Moony then, c'mon! Got the new Quidditch magazine, thought the four of us could read it?" James asked, forgetting about Lily instantly.

"Um.. Maybe later I guess. I think I.. I think I left my scarf by the lake and I kinda wanna go get it," Remus said feeling awkward about blatantly lying to his friends. Truth be told, he wanted to help Severus as much as Lily did, but didn't want to lose three of his only four friends in the process.

"Whatever, see ya then," James jogged back to the castle, Sirius and Peter just steps behind as always. "Lily, is.. Is Severus alright?" Remus asked quietly, walking towards the two of them.

"Ask those three idiots, unless they've already told you all about it. I bet you enjoyed watching the whole thing too, I bet you just love being in the winning team. Guess what, if four people are mercilessly attacking one it doesn't make you the winners," her words had the acidic bite of true anger behind them as she brushed the dark hair from Severus' face and ran two fingers over his cheek.

"I never knew what they were doing! I just turned up here and witnessed the last of it Lily. I was standing there with you the whole time. I thought you of all people would actually know me well enough to know that I wouldn't hurt anyone, least of all Severus. What's he ever done to me?" Aside from the name calling, hexing, jinxing.. Remus left those out, not wanting to taint Lily's view.

"Whatever, are you going to help me get him to the Hospital Wing or what then?" She just sounded disappointed now that the anger had burned off.

Remus nodded and took the last three steps towards Lily and Severus quickly, before lifting up the three leather satchels and throwing them over one shoulder. Severus' eye twitched and his mouth murmured Lily's name. She smiled, whispering back at him.  
Remus never found it difficult to see why James always thought Lily and Severus were more than friends, even though Remus knew better himself. He, Remus, and Lily were very close, closer than most actually thought. Nobody seemed to realise that time spent in the library studying was the time the two spent together and in reality was only partial studious. Talking, chatting, gossiping. However you described it, the two did exactly that.

Remus grabbed one of Severus' arms and pulled him up, throwing said arm over his shoulders and supporting a good quantity of his weight. For such a scrawny Slytherin, he certainly felt heavy enough. Lily did the same, and soon Severus was barely supporting any of his own weight, though a little more conscious than he had been.

"Lily.. " He groaned a little. "Lily, what happened? Was it those Marauders again?" He coughed and opened his eyes. "Why is one of them here!" Suddenly a lot more awake, he pulled his arm away from Remus and clung onto Lily with both arms, before pulling her down on top of him as he fell.

"For God's sake Sev, Remus is helping you. Can't you see that? He wasn't with the others when they did whatever they did to you. We're taking you to the Hospital Wing, both of us." She untangled herself from Severus clutch and dusted off her robes from the dirty ground. "Now get back up and we can go," she leant down and offered a hand for Severus to pull himself up on. He grasped it and did just so.

"Well, now that I'm awake again I think we can walk to the dormitories of our own accord, correct Lily?" He took two steps away from Remus and Lily before stumbling. Remus managed to catch him just before he hit the ground though, and hoisted him up by the elbow.

"Sev, just let us both take you anyway? It would make me happy," she said smiling sweetly and touching his arm gently. Remus held back a laugh at the pale pink tinge colouring Severus' cheekbones.

"Fine, but only for you Lily," he said throwing an arm over her shoulder with slightly less hesitation than the arm which sank slowly and awkwardly over Remus' light frame.

"Don't worry, it isn't a picnic for me either, Snape." Remus laughed a little, not wanting to refer to Severus as his actual name, but feeling the regular nickname used by the other Marauders wouldn't be too appropriate either. 'Snivellus' wasn't exactly a name ringing with good-heartedness.


	3. Chapter 3

**So chapter three is up! **

**It's weird because the first thing I type up is the AN.. So it isn't actually up yet :') ANYWAY, as always, disclaimers and the such are in the first chapter. The scarf if still mine. Bet y'all don't see this coming! -twist alert-**

Remus and Lily sat on a grassy hill, overlooking the patch of giant pumpkins. Hagrid's giant pumpkins. The sun was going down, casting a pink hue across the pair as Lily hugged her knees to her chest, deep in thought, and Remus absent-mindedly tugged at his tie.

"Y'know what we should do, Remus?" Lily sighed, turning to him and pushing herlegs out in front of her. "We should get them back. They push you around just as much as me you know, and I don't think it's fair on either of us."

"And how exactly do we go about doing that?" Remus asked, scratching at the back of his head and chuckling a little. "I think they've done everything in the book and some."

"Well.. I do have something. But you'd need to be with me a hundred and forty percent for it to work. I.. I don't know Remus, it was just a passing thought is all," she sighed again.

"If it comes back to you, and you think it seems doable, spill it and we'll see what we can do, yeah?" He smiled to her, and she back at him.

A few moments passed before she spoke again. "You trust me, right Remus?" She paused, looking to him for an answer. He nodded, looking puzzled but allowing her to continue. "Well.. Would you do something for me? I can't stress enough how much it would mean to me, but I kind of half expect you to say no,"

"Just spit it out, Lily," he laughed a little at her rambling.

"Would you help me with the prank I'm thinking of?"

"Sure, depending on what it is I guess."

"Remus Lupin, will you go out with me?"

Remus stared at her, shocked. That was the one thing he hadn't expected to hear from anyone, especially not Lily Evans. "Um.." A few moments had passed with her looking anxiously at him.

"I don't actually mean be in a relationship with me, but just act like it to annoy James and Sev. I'm sick of them and their bickering and constantly trying to prove themselves to me. I just feel like doing this could prove that I don't need any one of them to be happy," she smiled over at Remus, her eyes showing hints of sadness though.

"If it would make you happy Lily, you know I'd do anything for you. I feel like you're the only true friend I have here, what with James and Sirius just being nothing like me and Peter.. Peter's just always seemed a little off to me. So, yes. I will go out with you Lily," he smiled back at her reassuringly.

"You know what this means, right? Acting like a couple all of the time. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, during class, in the common room.. Even when we aren't actually with each other you have to keep up the front. Hug me, hold me, kiss me and cuddle me. It'll be just like we are actually going out," she was a little more nervous now, having given the specifics, namely the kissing. It was one thing to get a hug off of your best mate, male or female, but quite another to snog them in public.

"I'm okay with it Lily, trust me. I guess that git James deserves it anyway, I'm sick of listening to him talk about you. The way he talks about you too, so objectifying and possessive, as if he owns you. And Severus.. He's just not grateful enough for what he had with you." Lily threw her arms around his neck as he spoke, thanking him from the very bottom of her heart.

"So," she cleared her throat, having pulled away from Remus. "Would.. Would you mind starting tonight? I feel this is as good a time as any we're likely to get and the sooner the better and all."

"Tonight it is, but we need to get our story straight. How about the fact that it wasn't until the dim light of the setting sun's rays flashed across your face that I realised how truly beautiful you were. Your emerald eyes were bright and happy, as your crimson hair shone delicately," Lily smirked before hitting him lightly on the shoulder.

"Or," she said, "how about you just tell them you asked me out tonight? They wont ask for details, trust me. They'll be too shocked to ask questions,"

"Uh, yeah," he said, laughing a little. "But hey, gotta keep my bank of adjectives to describe my girlfriend," he winked at her. "Anyway, shall we go to the common room?" He got up from the grass and dusted his trousers off before offering a hand to Lily, to help her onto her feet. She took it and pulled herself up, before lifting both of their bags from the ground and passing Remus his.

"To the common room," she agreed starting to walk.

"Remember," Remus said catching up to her, "we're going out now Lily," he smiled and took her hand gently in his.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimers etc. in the first chapter. I hope you're enjoying this :3? R&R please ^.^**

**I may have said this before, maybe not.. I don't remember too well. I'm not a big fan of beta-ing my own work, as in reading it over 2-3 times and looking for mistakes. Nor am I a big fan of using the betas who offer themselves for general use. All I'm saying is, if someone has read this far in and specifically wants to beta this for me, I'd like that :) - **

As their shoes clicked gently off of the stone floors of the castle, Remus and Lily made their way to the Gryffindor common room. Lily was nervous, and Remus could see it in her eyes as they darted from wall to floor to ceiling, as if she was looking for someone or something. He could feel her hand, soft but warm, in his own as he kept his pace steady, matching her own.

"Lily," Remus paused, causing Lily to also stop. "Are you sure you want to do this? It can wait longer, and it's not too late to back down. You seem.. not like yourself, for lack of a better phrase."

Lily smiled up at him, her eyes no longer nervously flickering. She seemed sure. "I want to do it tonight. Now. If.. I-If that's still okay with you of course," she added, thinking Remus could possibly have changed his mind.

"Of course it's fine with me. I wanna annoy James as much as you do Lily, think about how much he's annoyed me over the last couple of years," he chuckled a little, still thinking that James was possibly the only reason he had managed to make it at Hogwarts as anything more than a freak. He owed a lot to him, but not the amount of crap he'd put up with from James. Between Lily, Lily and Severus, Lily and anyone actually, Quidditch, classes. In general, James just liked to complain a lot.

Lily let out a sigh of relief before wrapping her arms tightly around Remus. He paused for half a moment before wrapping his own gently around her waist. They waited for a little longer than they normally would have before Lily gently eased away from him, leaving them together only by the hand. She muttered something about having to face 'them' sooner or later before picking up her pace a little. Remus followed suit, wanting to stay right by her side.

They reached the portrait hole just minutes later and the fat lady greeted them with a slight smile as Lily said the password, brightly. Remus was the first of the two to step into the cosy common room, he smiled a little at his friends, and waved as they called him over.

"Moony! You know your scarf's here, right? Has been the whole time!" It was Peter who was shouting something about Remus' scarf, but he wasn't paying attention. In fact all three of them, James, Sirius and Remus, stopped paying attention to everything the second Lily walked in. Well, Remus had never really been paying attention, a little to nervous for Lily and the hatred she was putting herself up for from James, and Severus as well, when he found out. Her hand slipped into Remus' snugly, though slick with sweat. She was obviously nervous about the whole thing. Smiling sweetly at the three marauders who were sitting by a large, wooden desk, she snuggled up closely to Remus, trying to show them just how close it was.

"Remus." James said, all laughing and joking gone from his voice. It was as if seeing Lily being so close with anyone other than himself had totally changed him, well at least her being with someone he had classed as his best friend anyway. "Mind if we talk up-stairs?" He said, nodding towards the male dormitories. Remus nodded silently, before pecking Lily on the cheek gently and walking to the dorm. James followed quickly, rushing Remus up the stairs faster than normal.

"What.. What even.. You did hear every single word I have ever spoken about Lily Evans, right? You are aware that I am in love with her, right? And you are aware that I think I just saw you and Evans.. Together? Tell me I'm seeing things Remus?"

Remus paused, trying to think up a sensible answer that wouldn't annoy James too far. He could already see the black haired boy's hand twitching towards his wand. "Come on Prongs, did you never think to ask Lily how she felt? According to her, she was really starting to feel something for you. Maybe if you'd ignored Snive-Severus like she'd asked then she might have picked you. As it is, this just happened, and I'm not gonna lie, I quite like it," he chuckled a little and scratched the back of his head.

"Does she know about," James cleared his throat. "You know.. _that_ yet?"

"Nope," Remus sighed. "Haven't told her yet and I guess I don't plan on telling her unless this gets really serious or she asks or notices when we're gone or.. Well, I say we. You are still gonna come down to the shack, right? You know I couldn't go without you all?"

"Look, right now Remus I don't know what I'm gonna do. The girl of my dreams, the girl I was truly in love with," Remus stopped really listening to him, out of a mixture of having heard it all before and the fact that James was totally exaggerating and would be back to chasing after the cute little Ravenclaw he'd been after between fits of Lily.

"..I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to take our regular weekend trips though," he said, smiling as Remus tuned back in. "I'm sure Padfoot and Wormtail agree with me, Moony." Back to using their regular nicknames, it was clear as was well between the four friends.


End file.
